A Whiskey Blog for the Rest of Us

I had a hankering today to try Booker’s again since I have been really enjoying cask strength bourbon lately. So I went to Hokus Pokus looking for it but they were out. But, low and behold in a box in the back were six bottles one of which was earmarked for me. I could hardly believe it-one of the coveted bottles of late- the Knob Creek 25th Anniversary edition.

And, lucky me, it is 13 years old, single barrel, and at barrel proof of 122.9. Woohoo! This should be right up my alley!

Nose is a lovely balance between oak, spice and sweet cornbread muffin. Color is a lovely light mahogany. Lovely rye spice on the palate, with oak and tabacco swirling with the spice. Very nice mouthfeel and a mellow lingering finish with a hint of nuttiness that shows the high amount of barley in the mashbill that is typical of Beam family recipes used at both Beam and Heaven Hill. But the nuttiness isn’t dominant -thank God-and it blends well with the rest of the finish.

Kudos to Jim Beam and Fred Noe for putting out a really nice cask strength special release that is really a bottle of Wow! You made my Monday tolerable.